1 And Shemu’ĕl took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said, “Is it not because יהוה has anointed you leader over His inheritance?
2 “When you leave me today, you shall find two men by Raḥĕl’s tomb in the border of Binyamin at Tseltsaḥ, and they shall say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And see, your father has left the matters of the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?” ’
3 “And you shall pass on from there, and beyond, and shall come to the terebinth tree of Taḇor. And three men going up to Elohim at Bĕyth Ěl shall find you there, one bearing three young goats, another bearing three loaves of bread, and another bearing a skin of wine.
4 “And they shall greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.
5 “After that go to the hill of Elohim where the Philistine watch-post is. And it shall be, when you have come there to the city, that you shall meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, and a tambourine, and a flute, and a lyre before them, and they are prophesying.
6 “And the Spirit of יהוה shall come upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
7 “And it shall be, when these signs come to you, do for yourself as your hand finds to do, for Elohim is with you.
8 “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal. And see, I am coming down to you to slaughter burnt offerings and make peace offerings. Wait seven days, till I come to you, then I shall make known to you what you should do.”
9 And it came to be, when he had turned his back to go from Shemu’ĕl, that Elohim gave him another heart. And all those signs came on that day.
10 And they came there to the hill and saw a group of prophets, to meet him. And the Spirit of Elohim came upon him, and he prophesied in their midst.
11 And it came to be, all who knew him formerly looked and saw that he prophesied among the prophets. So the people said to each other, “What is this that has come upon the son of Qish? Is Sha’ul also among the prophets?”
12 And a man there answered and said, “And who is their father?” That is why it became a proverb, “Is Sha’ul also among the prophets?”
13 And when he stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 And the uncle of Sha’ul asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Shemu’ĕl.”
15 And the uncle of Sha’ul said, “Please inform me what Shemu’ĕl said to you.”
16 And Sha’ul said to his uncle, “He informed us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not disclose to him about the matter of the reign, what Shemu’ĕl had said.
17 And Shemu’ĕl called the people together to יהוה at Mitspah,
18 and said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, “Thus said יהוה, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘I have brought Yisra’ĕl up out of Mitsrayim, and delivered you from the hand of the Mitsrites and from the hand of all reigns and from those who oppressed you.’
19 “And today you have rejected your Elohim, who Himself saved you out of all your evils and your distresses. And you have said to Him, ‘No, but set a sovereign over us!’ And now, present yourselves before יהוה by your tribes and by your clans.”
20 And Shemu’ĕl brought near all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, and the tribe of Binyamin was taken.
21 Then he brought near the tribe of Binyamin, by their clans, and the clan of Matri was taken, and Sha’ul son of Qish was taken. And when they sought him, he could not be found.
22 And they asked again of יהוה, “Has the man come here yet?” And יהוה answered, “See, he has hidden by the baggage.”
23 And they ran and brought him from there. And he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than any of the people, from his shoulders and upwards.
24 And Shemu’ĕl said to all the people, “Do you see him whom יהוה has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” And all the people shouted and said, “Let the sovereign live!”
25 And Shemu’ĕl declared to the people the rulings of the reign, and wrote it in a book and placed it before יהוה. And Shemu’ĕl sent all the people away, each to his house.
26 And Sha’ul went to his house too, to Giḇ‛ah. And with him went brave men whose hearts Elohim had touched.
27 But the sons of Beliya‛al said, “What! Does this one save us?” And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he kept silent.